Comfort things~~~

Hello again Sweet Things,

I can relax briefly, Lillian and Heather have invited me over for dinner, Chinese from our favorite restaurant, followed by fresh baked pumpkin spice bread and pumpkin spice tea. Lillian is on a pumpkin spice kick and frankly, Sweet Things I love the smell, it's so homey and old fashion.

It conjures up the image of great Grandma's kitchen warmed by an old fashion wood burning stove, with good things baking in the oven, a cat cozily curled up on a kitchen chair, hot chocolate and warm cookies.

And for entertainment later this evening watching a old horror movie host named Svengoolie as he presents Don Knotts in "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken", I am looking forward to something that is so simple and amusing from 40 years ago, another time, another place, another era.

Lillian is also going to have her fireplace burning, she was able to get seasoned apple wood from a friend of hers in the valley that has an apple orchard, every other year some of the trees are so old they no long produce anymore so they must be removed, the soil energized and new apple tree saplings planted, the old wood is our gain, except on no burn days.

I need something like this right now, I miss my family although they are doing well and I'll be going down there for Thanksgiving and I hope for Christmas. Dad has discovered "A Christmas Story" and thinks it is the most hilarious film he has ever seen, not that he ever went to the movies much.

Baby sis and her fiance persuaded Dad to buy a television set, this was very hard but what they did is they found an old television cabinet that had doors on it, in a beautiful cherry wood, it was from a T.V. set that was made in the early 1950's, the set had been removed ages ago and the cabinet was revamped to hold a tape deck. Ted spotted it at a yard sale made an offer and then removed the tape deck--it was broken and not repairable, so Ted cleaned up the insides and brought it to the house.

He and Baby sis explained about the Retro T.V. programs that were now being broadcasted and he told Dad about DVD's. Dad is not too fond of new things, it takes a while to convince him, but once he saw what could be "brought in" he felt more at home with the Retro Stations, all on Antenna no cable or satellite.

Then the DVD player, well said Dad "If it's nothing improper". How could the 6 Thin Man movies be improper said Baby Sis, Dad was convinced. But in keeping with the house, the T.V. was installed into the cabinet with the DVD player underneath, thanks to Ted's handiwork and it is out of sight with the cabinet doors closed.

And Baby Sis found what people use to call Television lamps, these were made to look like vases or a ceramic leopard and with a low wattage bulb they would sit on top of the T.V. giving light to the room, while the room was dimmed to watch T.V. and it sit's on top of one of Mom's crocheted dollies on top of the T.V. cabinet, as sis would say "We finally brought Dad and Mom into the 1950's".

I am amused by those thoughts, such a difference from a few years ago, that my heart feels light in many ways.

Joe is getting ready to report on duty, it will be a cold and chilly night for him and a long one, he looks so tired that I worry he'll come down with a cold, or the flu even if he's had his flu shot. In the few free moments he's had he's been looking for other positions outside of the area, I asked him if this is a good thing to do right now, and he said he felt he better do it soon, because things are getting ugly.

Then he realized how much his decision could affect me and my life that he almost changed his mind but I told him no, he had to do what he felt was best for himself and we'd go from there.

Heather told me that her teacher have made compromises to the students that were affected by their teachers actions (well bringing in a lawyer can be persuasive) and they will complete their studies with excellent grades, but Heather has decided to switch to a psychology major, by having it originally as a minor she was able to complete a number of classes needed she just has to back track on a few, by having art as her minor she's already completed much of that area. She's been looking into a few scholarships and it appears she qualifies for several. So she will finish this term and using the school break will flip her direction, she's already started the paper work for that.

Once she made up her mind I could see how focused and yet relaxed she became, she said to me that she had a feeling that she Will be able to find work with her psychology degree even if she's getting minimum wages just starting out.

Lillian confessed to me that she was worried she may not see Heather settled into a career, especially since Heather's parents had to move out of state for a new position for Heather's Dad and they sold their house, that is another reason why Heather is living with Lillian so she can complete her studies here. After talking it over with Joe to see if he was agreeable, I told Lillian she didn't have to worry, I would be there for Heather to help see her through.

And that was almost another reason why Joe was going to stop his job search but I told him to continue, we'd work things out.

Today I did some chores and shopping, I found myself enjoying the chill in the air, after yesterdays rain, the changing of the leaves, the feel of Autumn turning towards winter, the wateriest of the Sunlight, the freshness of the slight breeze. And for a brief moment I felt that Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson were off again on an adventure. I think tomorrow evening I'll get out my volume of Sherlock Holmes stories and follow this particular detective through the fog shrouded streets of London as "the game is afoot".

Until Later, Kisses Sweet Things.